Visiting the Old Barn Gallery is always a treat - great to see all the new items this year antiques, folk art, quilts, pillows and in such a beautiful setting. The new boutique with one-of-a-kind designer tops, handbags, belts, and fashion are setup in a beautifully decorated addition. Well worth the trip. The surroundings of flower gardens and fragrance of roses top it all off.
Lovely spot with art and beautiful linensWarm welcome and reasonable pricesWorth the time to see. Nice stop between cape breton and antigonish.
This gallery and boutique is a must see for tourists as well as local residents. The grounds are well manicured, the property has a unique history and the shops have something for all. Although I enjoyed browsing through the boutique as well as the antiques and the folk art, it was the paintings that I fell in love with; in particular the works of international artist Guenter Burr . His poppy paintings are truly amazing! Please allow plenty of time to browse. Thanks Carole and Ed for sharing your art world and artistic talents with us!
Carol, showed us around and explained the gallery as a showplace for her and other artists work. Some very nice artwork. We were especially interested in the renovation of the barn to a gallery, also carol's past profession as a horse breeder. She gave us a real sense of life on Cape Breton.
Quite a challenge to find as there are few road signs to help the driver (thanks Transport Canada), we had to do a few u-turns to finally land the place. Carol was very helpful in and around the gallery, always ready with a story about an artist. A very quaint place that includes a gallery and small clothing/accessories shop. One-of-a-kind items to entice any shopper!
We followed the signs, (handmade, plywood junk), up the drive, past a few houses, until we saw a large red barn and a large "Parking" sign. There was nothing there to see. What a bust. I am certainly glad we didn't drive out of our way for this. We went in early Oct. Now, if they were closed for the season, which I might understand, would they not have picked up their handmade signs? Again, a total waste of time. Dont go.
On our way back to our cottage from Antigonish, we happened to see a red sign for the Old Barn Gallery Art and Antiques on the side of the road. We were able to get over in the left lane in time to turn off 104 onto the road to the gallery. The picturesque setting is absolutely beautiful and the original art and crafts by local artisans and antiques from the area are very nicely displayed and presented in the Carriage House and the Big Red Barn. The owner, Carol Rivoire, came to the carriage house to greet us and began telling us about all the beautiful things she had in the boutique. Then she took us up to the big barn which is filled with wonderful crafts, art, and antiques, tastefully displayed. We ended up buying a great old Nova Scotia hooked rug and a unique wooden bowl turned from a spruce burl. Two great souvenirs of our trip to Nova Scotia. It was an unexpected pleasure and a great way to spend some time on a sunny Maritime day. Cannot say enough about a great experience.
The Old Barn Gallery near Antigonish is just a remarkable place to visit. You can look at (and buy) all kinds of arts, crafts and paintings from local and also some European artists. There are also very nice and beautiful antiques and a lovely garden to sit in. And the best of all: The sweetest and cuddliest cat one can imagine who'll give you the warmest welcome and lets you caress his teddy bear-like fur.
Well it took a little perserverance to find the Barn Gallery but we are glad we stuck with it. The site is very nice and has been developed by caring and thoughtful folks. The items shown were much higher quality then one might expect for the area and the location itself. Carol is very talented and nice host.
An interesting collection of work from local artists, antiques and collectibles. So many little treasures you'll see something that catches your eye every time you turn around. With all of it's rustic charm make sure you have time to take it all in. The owner Carol, is so knowledgeable about all of the pieces she has in the old barn as well as her boutique you can be sure she can give you a little history on each of them. Can't wait to see what's new next year!Yvonne L